Clip for railroad-switch pivotal tie-rods



(No Model.)

. A. A. STROM.

CLIP FOR RAILROAD SWITGH PIVOTAL TIE RODS.

No. 394,943. Patented Dec. 18,1888.

llNiTEn STATES PATENT EicE.

AXEL A. STROM, OFAUSTIN, ILLINOIS.

CLIP FOR RAILROAD-SWITCH PIVOTAL TIE-RODS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 394,943, chted December 18, 1888.

Application filed September 4, 1888. Serial No. 284,544. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AXEL A. STROM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Austin, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clips for Railroad-Switch Pivotal Tie-Rods, of which the following is a specification.

In some railroad-switches the switch-rails are connected by stiff or jointless tie-rods, to cause their simultaneous movement in adj usting them. In others the tie-rods are connected for the purpose at their extremities flexibly to the opposing sides of the switchrails by pivoting the ends of the rods in clips, which are rigidly secured to the rails.

My improvement relates to the last-named construction.

As hitherto formed, so far at least as one construction known to me is ctmcerned, the clips alfordin g the medium for pivotally connecting the tie-rods at their opposite ends to the switch-rails have cmnprised, each, a crossbarto be secured to the web of a rail, and to the ccnterof which, at one side, is connected, by welding, a bent stem, which enters toward its extremity between the prongs of an end or head of the tic-rod, which has thus to be bifurcated at opposite ends to permit the application to it of the clips, and a bolt passed through perforations in each bifurcated head and through a perforation in the stem of a clip thus embraced between the prongs at an end of the tie-rod connects the latter pivotally with the switch-rails. 'lhis construction of clip, for the purpose named, is objectionable, because of the expense involved in its manufacture, and because of its liability to break with use, the connection by welding of the crossbar and stem not being sufficiently strong to resist the strain incident to the use of the device.

The objects of my improvements are to provide a clip for the purpose stated, which shall be equally strong throughout all its parts, so far as it may be, by being stamped out of a single piece of metal to form the blank, and which shall involve comparatively little expense in its manufacture, and materially reduce the cost of manufacture of the tie-rod by avoiding the expense of construction incurred by providing bifurcated heads at its extremities.

My invention consists in the general construction of my, improved clip, audit also consists in details of construction and combinations of parts.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a perspective view representing myimproved clip. Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of a switch-rail having my improved clip, presented in end elevation, applied to it, and part of a tie-rod pivotally connected with the clip. Fig. isa plan view of a blank from which the clip may be formed, and which is integral, being stamped out of a single piece of metal.

A is the clip formed from a blank, B, stamped out of a plate of steel to produce the body portion r, short arms q, andlonger arms, p and p, the latter being substantially at right angles to each arm q, and the arm 2) being somewhat longer than the arm 1), and each of the arms should be perforated, as shown, near its extremity. If desired, the arms and p may have the rectangular form shown of the arms 1, though it is preferred that they taper somewhat, as illustrated, toward their ends, and that the latter be rounded. The shapes of the arms, however, are'not material, and may be varied at pleasure without departing from my invention.

To produce the clip from the blank 13, the a rms p and p are bent from, or from near, their junction with the body portion toward each other, to cause them to converge, as shown, and the end portions containing the perforations are bent to assume right-angular positions with relation to the body 1* and form lips or and 'n, the perforations in which coincide with each other, a space being provided between the lips sulliciently wide to admit a perforated end of the tie-rod O, by bending the lip a slightly to offset it, as shown:

A clip, A, should be provided for each tierod at each end of the latter, with which the clip is pivotally connected by means of a suitable bolt, on, and the clips for each tie-rod are firmly secured to the opposing faces of the webs of the switch-rails, as by means of bolts Z passed through the openings in the arms q and in the webs of the rails.

The arm (1 may be omitted, when the clip could be secured to the rail at its body portion r, though this construction is not so desirable as that shown.

Inspection of Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings will show that the arms 1) and 1) do not extend from the opposite edges of the body portion 2', as they would were they merely bent toward each other from the blank, but that they extend from the face of the body portion near the opposite edges thereof, which is caused by swaging them in the bending operation. It is preferred to make the clip in the form illustrated, because the body portion 7' should be of a width corresponding with that of the rail-web, when, if the arms 1) and 1) were merely bent from the edge of the body portion 2', their thickness would preventthe latter from fitting against the web of the rail, while by swaging them as described this is avoided.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a blank for a clip for use in pivotally connecting a tie-rod with a switclrrail, a single piece of metal having a body portion, 0', and arms p and 1) extending transversely therefrom, substantially as described.

2. A blank, B, for a clip for use in piyotally connecting a tie-rod with a switch-rail, comprising a single piece of metal forming a body portion, 0, arms q, and arms 7) and 11, substantially as described.

3. A metal clip for affording pivotal connection of a tie-rod with. a switch-rail,having a body portion, 1', provided with bent arms and 7) extending from it, substantially as described.

4-. A metal clip for affording pivotal connection of a tie-rod with a SWiiTCll-l''tll, comprising a body portion, '1', having arms q extending from it, and bent arms and p extending from the body portion lwtwecn the arms q, substantially as described.

A clip for altording pivotal connection ol a tie-rod with a sw itch-rail and formed of a nglepieee of metal and comprising a body portion, r, l'iaying arms (1 extending from it, and bent arms p and 1) extending from the body portion between the arms and bent toward their end to form lips ext ending transversely to the body port ion, substaiitially as described.

6. The combination of a metal clip, A, comprising a body portion, '1', having arms 11 extending from it, bent arms and p extending toward each other from the body portion between the arms q, and a tie-rod, (l, fitting near one end between the ends of the arms 7) and 1) and pi Votally connected thermvith, substan tiall y as described.

AXEIL A. S'IRUM.

ln presence ol 

